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20 Years of Power Rangers

In my hectic preparation for DragonCon, I completely forgot that we were coming up on 20 years of Power Rangers, but sure enough, here we are. Twenty years ago today – Saturday morning, August 28, 1993 – Zita Repulsa escaped and five teenagers with attitude came together to fight her and all manner of evildoers with spandex costumes, sweet martial arts moves, and giant lumbering robots. I was there that fateful morning, glued to that television screen. Were you?

Going back to rewatch those early days, it’s rough. (believe me, I’ve done it) Still, there’s a charm that remains present in that low-budget footage and hammy acting from industry newbies. Much of the charm is from its use of Japanese Super Sentai stock footage with well-choreographed fight scenes and creative costume designs that lent themselves well to some awesome toys. Still, some of that specialness came from stories and characters, largely American creations for those first early years, that kids could identify with.

While not the “power” house in pop culture that it was in those first few years, the Power Rangers franchise is still going strong with its current Megaforce series now airing and prepping for its anniversary special with several returning alums (such as the perennial favorite Tommy “the green/white/red/red/black ranger” Oliver (played by MMA fighter and skydiving enthusiast Jason David Frank).

While the franchise tries to stay up with current trends, such as with dubstep music videos, as long as it continues to tell quality, wholesome good-versus-evil stories (and makes nice toys), Power Rangers should be with us for a long while.

Are you a Power Rangers fan? When did you first watch the show? What’s your favorite Power Rangers series?